A Magical Visit to Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

As part of my commitment to seeing a bit more of the UK since my Year Abroad (which now feels like a distant memory), I visited Alnwick Castle in October. Home to the Duke of Northumberland whose family have resided there for an incredible 900 years, it is a stately home better known as Hogswart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as it was a magical film location for the Harry Potter films. And more recently, the Downton Abbey 2014 Christmas Special!

As a lover of all things Harry Potter and Downton, Alnwick was like a dream come true.

The trip was organised by the Student’s Union and we took a coach up from Sheffield which took three and a half hours without stops. I’d recommend buying a ticket for both the Castle and the Gardens. You do not want to miss out on the interior of the castle, nor walking round one of the most beautiful contemporary gardens in the country.

The Poison Garden is a one of a kind in this country; you get up close and personal with some of the most deadliest natural killers in the world and learn all about them from an expert guide.

They are not kidding!Belladona – so beautiful but so deadlySome plants have to be caged for security!

The castle has responded positively to its involvement as a filming location for Downton Abbey. This was the first time the interior of the Castle had been used as a film set. They have installed a short documentary in the Coach House about what it was like to have the Downton Crew filming there. Not to mention, each of the state rooms used in the filming have information points about what happened in there in the episode, some have the outfits worn by the actors on display and the dining room for example, has kept the name placards for each of the Downton characters for where they sat for dinner. As a huge fan of this television series, it was hugely satisfying to find out all these small details.

There really is so much to do here in a day. There are many exhibits on local history, archeology and artifacts and war history, aside from the main rooms. There are daily activities for childen (and adults), involving broomstick flying (Harry Potter themed), archery, guided tours of the cellars, etc. and the Castle has it’s own café and picnic areas. It is also in close proximity to Alnwick town, where you can visit the famous Barter Books (which I regret not visiting!).

Before boarding the bus back to Sheffield, we visited the Alnwick Garden’s Treehouse area, which is one of the largest treehouses in the world. It has a cosy little coffeehouse, the Potting Shed, where we sat for for a quick hot drink and a slice of cake. There is also a restaurant which looked very tempting. All of this is decorated with very atmospheric outdoor fairylights which make it look magical and homely.

Although quite a drive away, our day trip exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend a visit to Alnwick Castle to anyone. Next on my ‘Castle list’ to vist will hopefully be Highclere Castle, also known as the wonderful Downton Abbey!